COLUMBUS, Ohio – Big Ten, this is Maryland. Maryland, this is the Big Ten. Get to know each other.

The most intriguing aspect of the new 14-team Big Ten that will be take full effect next year was on display at Value City Arena on Wednesday night. When the SEC expanded, it grabbed Texas A&M, which showed up in 2012 with a guy ready to win the Heisman in Johnny Manziel. The league also added Missouri, which in its second year in the conference will play in the SEC Championship in football on Saturday night.

You decide whether the immediate success of new members in a league is a sign of strength or weakness. But in the expanded Big Ten coming in 2014, with the choice of Rutgers football, Rutgers basketball, Maryland football or Maryland basketball, it’s pretty clear where the greatest chance at early success lies.

It’s with the program that hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament in three seasons and lost 76-60 to the No. 3 Buckeyes (7-0) on Wednesday in the Big Ten-ACC (not-quite-yet Big Ten) Challenge.

The Terrapins (5-3), in their third year under coach Mark Turgeon, did made the NIT semis last season. Not much should have to change for Maryland, which reached 11 straight NCAA Tournaments between 1993-2004. Ohio State’s Sam Thompson said the Terrapins should slide right in with a rebounding emphasis that reminded him of Michigan State, and a versatile lineup of guards and forwards that reminded him of Michigan.

“Basketball is basketball. I don’t care what conference you’re in. That doesn’t matter to me,” said junior Dez Wells (19 points), who started his career at Xavier, when asked if the program will have to make any style-of-play adjustments next year.

So rather than the Terrapins flashing their credentials, Wednesday’s game turned into a primer for Maryland on how things might work in their new league.

Here are some things that the Big Ten enjoys at times.

There was defense, exemplified by five Aaron Craft steals.

“Craft was in total control of the game on both ends of the floor,” Turgeon said. “I think Craft is at another level. So we’ll never see that again. He’s at another level.”

There were 3-pointers, with LaQuinton Ross shooting 4-of-6 outside while scoring a season-high and game-high 20 points. Three of those threes came in the first five minutes, as Ross in the last two games has been working his way out of a slump.

“Imagine as competitor the first three possessions, he makes shots and you don’t find him,” Turgeon said, incredulous at his team’s lack of defensive awareness.

And there were alley-oops, enough to Thompson, who scored 14, that you sort of lost track.

“I can’t tell you how many times we talked about lob passes to that kid in our scouting report,” Turgeon said. “He had pretty athletic guys jumping up there with him and he’s at another pretty high level.”

There was also a play that OSU coach Thad Matta considered an all-timer. If the new program wanted to know what can makes the Buckeyes coach shake his fists in celebration walking off the court at the end of the first half, it’s when defense makes offense.

Craft stripped the ball from the dribbler, got to the floor and flipped the ball ahead to Thompson, who hit a driving, spinning layup just the clock ticked down, giving the Buckeyes a 17-point halftime lead.

“He gets excited. He’s our biggest fan when things like that happen,” Craft said of his coach. “He loves defense, plays like that. He’s the first guy to come into the locker room clapping and getting us excited. Sometimes he’s more excited than us.”

Maybe someone should Matta in charge of welcoming committee for the new Big Ten on the way next year.

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